The weight debate: how heavy are your knives?

This is a great thread. I truly enjoy hearing all about how different folks approach the issue of gear selection for hiking and backpacking. As surely as you are what you eat, you are also, in a very real sense, what you carry. Our equipment preferences may reflect our age, conditioning, training, experience, goals, personal philosophy, and, lacking a better term, idiosyncrasies (individualizing characteristics or qualities - Merriam Webster). Yep, I don't necessarily believe that all of our choices are entirely rational. If they were we'd all like the same knife, or the same small set of knives, and there would be no "bladeforums.com".

When I was a youngster I was a pretty fair athlete, and I never gave much consideration to how much my gear weighed. Nowadays, at 64, I select my gear primarily based on how close to my limits I plan to be operating and personal preference. I'll carry almost any blade that strikes my fancy on a day hike over familiar terrain. But, on unfamiliar ground, and over distances and elevation changes that I may or may not be able to successfully engage, I'll pare every possible ounce from my gear.

On a three day trek in the Grand Canyon last year, I got my pack weight down to 20 lbs (fresh water was available at the end of each day, so I only carried 3 liters). The only knife I carried was the Ericksson #510 scandi, which weighs 2.4 oz. The only thing I used the 510 for was cutting out patches of moleskin for my toes. :D

Concerning the original question, "How heavy are your knives", here is a pic of a few of my favorites with the weights provided for the lightest and the heaviest:

DSCF0196.jpg


Bottom Row - Left to right:

Helle Polar (2.2 oz)
Ericksson #510
Frosts Triflex Craftsman
Wood Jewel Carver
Kellam Puukko
Wood Jewel 10 cm Carver
Bark River Northstar
Bark River Full Tang Kephart
Bark River Aurora
Skookum Bush Tool

Upper Grouping - top to bottom:

Busse SJTAC ETS
Busse Hell Razor
Swamp Rat Ratweiler (19.7 oz)

I obiously own more knives than I really need. But what the hell, I'm having a good time. :D
 
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I'll add my two bits since you asked. Weight is always a factor I consider in any piece of gear I carry in the mountains. That said, I will not sacrifice quality (safety) for weight savings. However given today's techology and materials, many very traditional heavy items including knives, saws and axes can now be replaced with lighter weight items that perform well. Maybe not as good as a full sized axe and knife, but if I have to pack it across the mountains, I personally am willing to look at all of the alternatives to save weight. (I carry a Falkniven F1, a GB Mini and a Bahco Laplander saw in additon to my SAK) I recently used this combo on a two week trek into the rockies, where I made camp and was fortunate enough to harvest a bull elk which I completely boned out with nothing but my F1)
 
go2ndAmend said:
I'll add my two bits since you asked. Weight is always a factor I consider in any piece of gear I carry in the mountains. That said, I will not sacrifice quality (safety) for weight savings. However given today's techology and materials, many very traditional heavy items including knives, saws and axes can now be replaced with lighter weight items that perform well. Maybe not as good as a full sized axe and knife, but if I have to pack it across the mountains, I personally am willing to look at all of the alternatives to save weight. (I carry a Falkniven F1, a GB Mini and a Bahco Laplander saw in additon to my SAK) I recently used this combo on a two week trek into the rockies, where I made camp and was fortunate enough to harvest a bull elk which I completely boned out with nothing but my F1)
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Awesome! Sounds like a great tools combo!
 
hollowdweller said:
great collection there HDW.

Is that one of the new full tang kepharts?
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Yes it is. This is a recent arrival and I haven't gotten around to using it yet. But it has a great full convex grind (A2), a comfortable handle with a good finger guard, and terrific overall balance and feel. I recommend it highly.
 
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go2ndAmend said:
I'll add my two bits since you asked. Weight is always a factor I consider in any piece of gear I carry in the mountains. That said, I will not sacrifice quality (safety) for weight savings. However given today's techology and materials, many very traditional heavy items including knives, saws and axes can now be replaced with lighter weight items that perform well. Maybe not as good as a full sized axe and knife, but if I have to pack it across the mountains, I personally am willing to look at all of the alternatives to save weight. (I carry a Falkniven F1, a GB Mini and a Bahco Laplander saw in additon to my SAK) I recently used this combo on a two week trek into the rockies, where I made camp and was fortunate enough to harvest a bull elk which I completely boned out with nothing but my F1)
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That's quite a feat go2. Congrats. :thumbup: How do you like the GB Mini. I've got the GB Wildlife and have used it to chop through blowdowns a couple times. The mini would be far more packable, and I've considered trying one out.
 
HighDesertWalker said:
That's quite a feat go2. Congrats. :thumbup: How do you like the GB Mini. I've got the GB Wildlife and have used it to chop through blowdowns a couple times. The mini would be far more packable, and I've considered trying one out.
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Yeah, I've been thinking about something smaller than my SFA as well.
 
I don't worry about weight of cutlery, but I did happen to weigh my Mora 2000 with kydex sheath. 6.1oz
 
when it comes to weight I consider myself lightweight not ultralightweight or superlightweight yet... i use and alcohol stove, down bag and i tend to carry nylon or sil nylon instead of canvas...however with knives I have never debated on what I carry and that is the fallkniven f1, while not the lightest knife, for its utility i find that i cannot convince myself that its is not worth the weight...maybe its from being and eagle scout and having the words "be prepared" constantly being echoed into my ears.
 
go2ndAmend said:
..... (I carry a Falkniven F1, a GB Mini and a Bahco Laplander saw in additon to my SAK) ....
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Congrats on your successfull hunt :thumbup:

Your choice of tools is very similar to mine. I carry a Fallkniven H1, a GB mini and the TK3 as the folder.


Kind regards
Mick
 
Dannyboy Leather said:
I do care about the weight of my knives, and it becomes an intrinsic consideration along with form, function, activity involved, etc, etc. That is why the whole "one knife only" concept makes absolutely no sense to my way of thinking. There is a place for big heavy knives, and a place for small lightweight thin knives, machetes and the rest. The heavy egress knife that I carry in my airplane is not the knife I choose for running the mountain trails.

There are many preconceived ideas out there that associate ultra-light backpackers with a contrary mentality about a number of equipment choices as if it involved their ethics and political persuasions. Ultra-light backpackers just simply prefer to make ultra-light choices. Simple enough, in most cases. As an ultra-light backpacker, I choose to carry a lightweight fixed-blade on the trail. Some of my partners carry only lightweight folders. Some are politically liberal, some are politically conservative, or in-between. To stereotype ultra-light backpackers as "knife haters" has no validity whatsoever in my experience. I have backpacked thousands of miles with ultra-light backpackers and honestly never met a knife hater on the trail. Generally, "knife haters" are people who have had little positive exposure to knives. Seems they might have some preconceived ideas, too. :) Successful 'long-distance' backpacking is about managing ounces, not pounds. If you are just going out a few miles with a pack, it doesn't really matter. I even haul a good-sized lawn chair 5-miles back into one of my favorite fishing lakes. On the long trails, excessive pounds can get you hurt - not to mention the lost needed calories burned and the sore muscles.

In the mountains where we live (we live right smack on the edge of the largest wilderness area in the state. Last house on the road to have electricity), there is a considerable elevation difference between our back 300 acres, and the front acreage. If I walk down the mountain to the lower property, I'm truly thinkin' "lightweight" knife. Though I run my tredmill almost everyday, hauling a big heavy knife back up that hill isn't my idea of fun. Nor, is it necessary. Carrying a heavier knife in one of the saddle bags is fine if I choose to ride. "Best all-around" in this country would be a 4" blade...sort of like 7 X 35 or 8 X 30 binoculars.
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Great post:thumbup:
And a great thread. I don't really know how much my Grohmann#3 is, but it's not a heavyweight, by most standards. My take on weight is all about getting as light as I can comfortably go, depending on condtions, terrain and goals. I mean, climbing at this time of year is going to be heavy, no matter how you slice it. I'm now down to a 55litre pack from a 90+15litre a few years ago and it's come down to buying better quality gear that's both lighter and fully functional. It's hard, though, being that I'm a gear head at heart and want to take more than less at times. Much of my opinions changed after getting into adventure racing, where I saw guys out there for days with little more than butt packs. As result, I started looking at all my gear as a system and I now have about three different versions of kit from full-on winter mountaineering to light and fast.
Hey, if we're getting out there and enjoying ourselves, why worry about anyone else's opinion?
 
The weight of all the edged tools found in our house should be much larger than single knife,
which can do most of the jobs of those tools so-so.
That's why we carry our knives, and versatile plain ergonomic handle is valued, I think.
 
The ultralight method has a limit of sanity. When you take the bare essentials of survival and swap them out for a razor blade, shortened matches, and a space blanket...Sure, if you're a crazy woodman type, you could have a good time out there. Most hipsters in Crocs, would die. I've always kept things to the minimal by nature, if something could be lighter I look into it and weigh the options. I can see sawing off a toothbrush, I can understand minimal shelters in planned trips in very, very nice weather. I can even understand using just a SAK in a state park trip, most hikers go their entire lives with a SAK and they're fine. But...stripping the scales off a Classic? There's minimalistic, then there's obsession.
 
Carrying only a razor blade for cutting, or stripping the scales off a perfectly good classic is a little too ultralight for my tastes. I carry a small stuff sack of basic survival items on every trek I take. I just move the sack to whatever pack I will be carrying on a given excursion; that way I don't have to rethink basic survival every time I go out. The stuff sack contains a fire starter kit, compass, whistle, signal mirror, cordage, headlamp, sharpener, and a Vic Hiker. That makes the Vic Hiker the minimum cutlery I go afield with, and, generally, I wear a sheath knife on my belt as well.
 
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